It is common practice to supply oxygen to patients in hospitals and in nursing homes. The oxygen may be supplied to the patient by introducing it into an oxygen tent in which the upper portion of the patient's body and head are located, or by means of a mask, or by means of one or more nasal tubes. It is sometimes desired to introduce water vapor into the oxygen supplied to the patient, and it may also be desired to introduce a certain amount of ambient air along with the oxygen to reduce the percentage of oxygen breathed by the patient.
Nebulizers are known for introducing water vapor into oxygen supplied to a patient. Nebulizers known to us utilize a rigid bottle of sterile water. Such bottles of water are a special-order item and are expensive. Consideration has been given to utilizing sterile water supplied in a flexible bag of water. This presents problems in that if the bag is hung below the nebulizer and the water is aspirated into the oxygen there will be one flow rate, whereas if the bag is hung upside down at a higher level as is common practice in hospitals, then there will be gravitational flow and a much larger quantity of water will be supplied to the nebulizer for incorporation as water vapor in the oxygen.